Requiem

Requiem Release Date, Blurb & More

Requiem Release Date, Blurb & More

REQUIEM, Book Three of Aurora Resonant and the final novel in the Aurora Rhapsody saga, will be released MONDAY, DECEMBER 11th in ebook and paperback (audiobook to follow in early 2018).

You've already seen the cover, but now I'm excited to present the Requiem blurb as well:

The end of the world began with a library query…how will it conclude?

What began as a chance discovery of an anomalous signal is now a multiverse war between humanity and its genetic ancestors over who controls the levers of life and death. Over who decides what life is and whether it will be allowed to exist. For the ruling Anaden Directorate, victory means immortality. For humanity, defeat means extinction.

On the heels of a breakthrough in wormhole technology, AEGIS and the anarchs enjoy the upper hand in the war. But their escalation pushes the Directorate to the brink, and now it will stop at nothing to destroy its enemy.

“Dangerous we can do. Nearly impossible we can do. All we need is the tiniest odds of success.”

The Directorate has perfected the art of conquest through obliteration. But humanity has advantages the Anadens do not. They are led by a woman who’s made a career of meeting the devil at the crossroads and sending him home in defeat. Caleb Marano wields a power as ancient as the universe itself. Alex Solovy manipulates the fabric of space-time at her whim. Unlike the Directorate, they fight for something greater than themselves. And now, they have one more Solovy on the team.

In the thrilling finale of Aurora Rhapsody, events rush headlong toward an explosive conclusion that will decide the fate of civilizations, and only the victor is making it out the other side.

*

Our universe is but a snowglobe—an experiment born of desperation and hope. The true universe is unfathomably vast, teeming with life and untold wonders. And it is enslaved.

Created by ancient aliens in a daring gambit to understand the nature of the enemy, humanity is now asked to be the savior of a universe not their own. If they are to succeed, they must rise above not only their fractious past but the sins of their genetic ancestors to boldly embrace a future they never dared imagine possible.

Starshine Is Free & Other Outlandish Notions

Starshine Is Free & Other Outlandish Notions

I admit, there was a time when I thought I would never, ever make Starshine free. It was my beloved, my baby, my most treasured creation, the raison d'être of my career. And it remains all of those things.

So why is it now available for free? Because I believe in the Aurora Rhapsody saga. I believe in it so fervently that I want to remove every single solitary barrier to a reader discovering it - which is why the ebook isn't just free, it's available on all major ebook retailers. It's free in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, India, and probably more countries I can't track. Companies offer free trials to customers when they believe in the quality of their products enough to pull back the curtain and let the world look under the hood. This is no different. I'm inviting everyone to the adventure, no risk, no catch, because I believe once they're on board, they'll never leave.

AND, on the off chance that 155K words isn't enough to seal the deal, new readers who subscribe to my website will get the Vertigo ebook for free. So share the links below with your fellow science fiction fans and your irascible uncle. Requiem is coming soon, but there's no finale without the journey that leads to it.

Epic SFF Sale For Your Holiday Weekend (Plus an Update on Requiem)

Epic SFF Sale For Your Holiday Weekend (Plus an Update on Requiem)

In the US and Canada, the 3-day holiday weekend marking an unofficial end to summer brings with it last trips to the beach or the lake, cookouts and other outdoor festivities. Or, it brings extra reading time. It brings BOOKS. If that's more your style, then peruse this epicness: 100 SFF books, all $0.99 each this weekend.

The Space Opera category alone is packed with great books, including one of my favorites, Betrayal: The 1000 Revolution Book One by Pippa DaCosta, as well as the excellent Fallen Empire Collection by Lindsay Buroker and Translucid: Dragonfire Station Book One by Zen DiPietro (also a little tale called Starshine....). And that's just the first category!

I'm having my own sale this weekend: the Aurora Rising trilogy novels, plus Sidespace (Aurora Renegades Book One), are on sale for $0.99 each through Monday.

I've pulled out all the stops for this one, because I want everyone I can reach to discover Aurora Rhapsody before Requiem releases later this year (more on that in a second). The promotion is already succeeding beyond my wildest expectations; on Thursday, Starshine cracked the Top 100 on Amazon and hit #1 in Space Opera as well as a number of other sci-fi categories. I'm thrilled at the prospect of thousands of new readers join Alex, Caleb and crew on their epic adventure.

I realize most of you already own and have read the first four books, and the next four. But this is the perfect time to introduce other sci-fi readers to the series....

...Because Requiem is coming. You know this. You've read the blog post, "A Word About A Word" (or you can read it now - I won't keep track). You've seen the final cover, because I'm terrible at keeping things under wraps (unless it concerns what happens between the first page and the last).

Midway-through the 2nd draft, Requiem is bumping up against 100K words - and this is before all the really juicy words get added. I'm quite happy with how the story has come together, and despite some distractions like big promotions to organize and other matters I will keep under wraps, dammit, the book remains solidly on schedule for a Winter 2017 release. Which, as the arrival of the Labor Day holiday reminds us, isn't too very far off now.

Rubicon Updates, Requiem Cover & More

Rubicon Updates, Requiem Cover & More

I'm thrilled to share an early look at the final cover for REQUIEM (Aurora Resonant Book Three, Aurora Rhapsody #9), which will be available later this year:

[view image]

In case it wasn't clear before now, I did tell you where this series was going from the beginning. From the very first words, in fact.

Words can be tricky things, though. I should know - it's my job to craft, mold, twist and turn them until they tell a meaningful, compelling story in a memorable way. With that in mind - and to hopefully ease yours - I offer you some brief musings on the word requiem’ in a new blog post: A Word About A Word.

Also, the Requiem word meter is up and running in the sidebar on the website, so you can keep track of its progress over the next several months.

Your response to Rubicon has been tremendous. With every book, I think the reviews can't get any more beautiful or humbling; with every book you prove me wrong. And feel free to continue doing so - if you haven't posted a review yet, I would love to see your thoughts on Amazon / Goodreads. If you haven't had a chance to get the book yet, by all means!

Other news:

A Word About A Word

A Word About A Word

REQUIEM (noun):

1. A Mass for the repose of the souls of the dead.

2. A musical composition setting parts of a requiem Mass, or of a similar character.

3. An act or token of remembrance.

Origin: Latin, accusative singular of requiēs, meaning “rest” or “repose.”

I've always held a certain appreciation for the word requiem. It's lovely to the ear, conveying consequentiality and reverence without being overly long or convoluted. It's a musical term; the Requiem Mass has inspired hundreds if not thousands of musical compositions, including pieces by some of the greatest composers who have ever lived. It's fitting that the last novel in a saga called Aurora Rhapsody bear a title steeped in musical sentiment. And, yes, it is an appropos title for the book, but as has been common with my book titles, perhaps in some unexpected ways.